Pakistan’s Ex-Ruler Pleads Not Guilty to Treason Charges

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Supporters of Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's former military ruler, protested on Monday outside a special court in Islamabad, where Mr. Musharraf appeared on treason charges.CreditAamir Qureshi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military ruler, pleaded not guilty to treason charges on Monday after being formally indicted by a special court here, according to lawyers in the case.

The indictment was a turning point for Pakistan, where the military has long dominated the civilian leadership and no military ruler has ever been tried for abuse of power.

But the court proceedings on Monday might also have a silver lining for Mr. Musharraf, who requested that the special court panel allow him to travel abroad to seek medical treatment. The three-member panel did not reject his request outright, suggesting that Mr. Musharraf could approach the government about having his name removed from the list of people barred from leaving the country.

Muhammad Farogh Naseem, a lawyer for Mr. Musharraf, said the former leader had already asked the Interior Ministry for permission to leave. Earlier, Mr. Naseem urged the court to allow Mr. Musharraf to travel to the United Arab Emirates to visit his ailing mother in a hospital, and to be allowed to go to the United States for his own treatment.

Publicly, government officials dismissed the idea that Mr. Musharraf would be allowed to travel. But for months there has been speculation that Mr. Musharraf might eventually be allowed to leave the country as a way to defuse a case that could bring the military into conflict with the judiciary and the civilian government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told the Pakistani Parliament on Monday that the government could arrange an air ambulance to ferry Mr. Musharraf’s ailing mother to Pakistan. Mr. Asif also said that the country’s military and civilian leadership were “on the same page.”

However, despite a studied silence from the military over Mr. Musharraf’s treason case, there have been rumblings within the ranks and among former army officials, who view the spectacle of their former commander being dragged through the courts as deeply insulting.

During the court proceedings, Mr. Musharraf, dressed in traditional garments, stood defiantly as charges were read out, then pleaded not guilty.

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Pakistan’s former president, Pervez Musharraf, is the country’s first military ruler to be tried on charges of abuse of power.Published OnMarch 31, 2014CreditImage by Reuters

“I fought two wars for the country,” he told the court during an impassioned speech that lasted just under half an hour. “I gave 44 years of my life to Pakistan’s army. The country was nearing default in 1999 when I assumed power, but I restored the country’s honor.”

“Is it treason?” he asked several times as he enumerated the successful economic policies while he was in office. “I regret that despite all this I am being called a traitor.”

Mr. Musharraf is accused of subverting the Constitution in 2007, when he imposed emergency rule and fired high-ranking judicial officials in an attempt to maintain his grip on power. He resigned under threat of impeachment in 2008 and left the country.

He returned to Pakistan in March 2013 to revive his political career, but instead found himself ensnared in court cases. The treason charge is the most serious one Mr. Musharraf faces; if convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

Proceedings in the case began in December, but Mr. Musharraf’s appearance Monday was only his second in 37 scheduled hearings. His lawyers have cited security and health concerns for past absences.

On Jan. 2, Mr. Musharraf was on his way to court but went instead to a military hospital in the neighboring garrison city of Rawalpindi, after complaining of heart trouble.

Since then, the justices on the panel hearing the case have expressed their unhappiness with Mr. Musharraf’s continuing absence. The panel, headed by Justice Faisal Arab, issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Musharraf that would have gone into effect had he failed to attend the hearing on Monday.

Late Sunday, Mr. Musharraf’s lawyers said he had been admitted to intensive care at the military hospital, suggesting that he might again fail to appear. But on Monday morning, a contingent of police officers arrived at the hospital, and Mr. Musharraf, for whom arrest would have been a deeply humiliating possibility, agreed to go to Islamabad.

Elaborate security arrangements were made for the proceedings on Monday. At least 2,100 police officers and paramilitary troops stood guard on the route from the military hospital in Rawalpindi to the court in Islamabad, officials said.

Mr. Musharraf adopted a different legal strategy on Monday, as none of the lawyers who had represented him earlier in the case attended the court hearing. Instead, Mr. Naseem, a lawyer with a good reputation, took up his case. Mr. Musharraf’s earlier legal team had adopted a combative approach, often trading acerbic comments with the prosecution lawyers and even bitterly arguing with the justices, accusing them of bias.

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